Tag - climate-change

 
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

A view of the village of Wiler, which neighbors Blatten, a village that was destroyed by a collapsing glacier, in Switzerland, on May 13.
WORLD
May 27, 2026
A year after glacier collapse, Blatten residents rebuild lives in Swiss Alps
Resilience and a promise to return are propelling plans to rebuild the village.
Visitors outside Notre-Dame Cathedral amid a severe heat wave in Paris on Tuesday
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 27, 2026
Record temps as spring heat wave bakes Europe
The U.K. reported its hottest-ever day for May, at 35.1 degrees Celsius at Kew Gardens in southwest London, as a high-pressure system trapped warm air over western Europe.
Muslim worshipers walk along the Grand Mosque complex under the water-mist fans installed in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
May 25, 2026
With ice cream and giant fans, hajj pilgrims battle searing heat
Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology has predicted daytime temperatures this week would hover between 42 and 47 degrees Celsius in Mecca during the Hajj.
Toyota's bZ4X electric vehicle at an international car show in Indonesia in August 2023. At 10% of Japan’s economy, the automotive industry is a pillar of the nation.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
May 24, 2026
Japan’s automotive industry is driving — slowly — toward a greener future
While major carmakers have committed to cut emissions, the industry’s slow shift to EVs means that it faces a high hurdle if it wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Blue River, a tributary to the Colorado River, earlier this month
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 24, 2026
Climate change threatens global plant species as habitats shrink
Some of the plants ⁠that make familiar landscapes recognizable may not survive by century’s end.
Workers in the sewing section of a factory, in Narayanganj, Bangladesh, in November 2025
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 21, 2026
Garment workers face heat risks in Bangladesh as energy cuts curb cooling
Factories have turned off cooling amid energy restrictions caused by the Mideast war, with workers sweltering and a drop in productivity likely costing billions of dollars.
A small portable cooler at a shop on the outskirts of Nagpur, India
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 21, 2026
In India’s parched heart, high power costs put cooling out of reach
“We keep our consumption to a bare minimum. Just enough to get some rest in the night.’’
A production line at a Nippon Steel plate rolling mill in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, in May 2025.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 17, 2026
Japan’s new emissions trading program: Key climate tool or paper tiger?
While climate advocates welcome emissions trading in Japan, there are concerns that the program lacks ambition.
The Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which will host six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Scientists warned FIFA that 1 in 4 of the World Cup games could take place in very hot conditions.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 15, 2026
Scientists warn ‘grueling heat’ could impact quarter of World Cup games
Concerns about heat already prompted FIFA to mandate a cooling break during each half of the World Cup matches that will take place in June in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
An uncovered sandbar due to low water levels of the Mississippi River in Greenville, Mississippi, in 2022
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 14, 2026
Why more intense bursts of rain are making the planet drier
Intense, concentrated rainstorms have been on the rise for decades. And those bigger storms turn out to have a counterintuitive effect.
A worker harvests salt at the Little Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat, India, on April 29.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 13, 2026
No trees, no fans: surviving extreme heat in India’s salt pans
Up to 50,000 workers in the western state of Gujarat spend eight months a year in the remote salt pans without electricity or healthcare, relying on a tanker to deliver water.
Penguins are seen on an iceberg as scientists investigate the impact of climate change on Antarctica's penguin colonies, on the northern side of the Antarctic peninsula in 2022.
JAPAN
May 12, 2026
Emperor penguins in focus as Antarctic talks start in Japan
Officials from the nearly 60 countries signatory to the Antarctic Treaty are meeting in Hiroshima for annual discussions on protecting and managing the fragile region.
Sheep near the eastern shores of Lake Hawea, near the town of Wanaka on the South Island of New Zealand.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 6, 2026
Court case challenges New Zealand’s ‘magical thinking’ climate plans
After unraveling several green policies since 2023, the right-leaning government is accused of relying too much on unproven future technologies to meet its carbon emission targets.
David Attenborough, whose landmark documentaries have changed popular understanding of the natural world, will turn 100 on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT
May 6, 2026
100 years on Earth: Iconic naturalist Attenborough to mark century
The BBC is leading the celebration of David Attenborough’s centenary with a full week of programming dedicated to his life, such as episodes of series including “Planet Earth II.”
Amid senseless global suffering and authoritarian threats, recent democratic activism and crises such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions and the Iran conflict show that tragedy can spark hope for moral progress and climate action.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2026
From despair to action: Tragedy is reborn as hope.
The crisis of democracy feeds the climate crisis.
An agrivoltaic crop, in which solar panels are raised about 3 meters off the ground so that agricultural machinery can freely operate on the crops underneath, in Sosa, Chiba Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 3, 2026
As Iran war sends oil prices soaring, some see fresh potential for solar in Japan
While megasolar projects are facing headwinds at the government level, some see renewed potential for solar sharing and smaller-scale, off-grid systems.
While climate-change skeptics downplay the issue, earlier blooming cherry trees in Washington and Kyoto serve as visible indicators of the climate crisis, driven by global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2026
Cherry blossoms are proof of a planet going awry
It was the seventh consecutive year in which the trees flowered earlier than their 20-year average.
A vendor sits next to used air conditioners at a roadside shop in Manila on April 24. A heat wave is sweeping across Southeast Asia as governments put energy-saving measures in place due to the war in Iran.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 28, 2026
Southeast Asia office workers swelter in energy-saving drive amid heat wave
As the prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz drains energy reserves, relief does not look to be coming anytime soon with countries set to bake in abnormally hot weather.
Volunteer firefighter Ryota Haga carries a fire hose to battle a wildfire in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 27, 2026
Tsunami survivor battles wildfire to protect hometown in Iwate Prefecture
Volunteer firefighter Ryota Haga is working to contain a wildfire raging for a sixth ​day that is threatening his community 15 years after it was devastated by a tsunami.
Oil disruptions from the war in Iran and the turmoil in energy markets highlight Asia’s vulnerability to imported fossil fuels and underscore the need to rapidly scale domestic renewable energies.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2026
Iran war is a renewable energy wake-up call
The old narrative that fossil fuels are stable and reliable has been proved wrong.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival